Tool chest



Sept. 13, 1960 E. H. BOWDEN 29523197 TOOL CHEST Filed April 3, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet- 2 E l l l 54 INVENTOR- ELMER H, BOVVDEM BY W, Mlm

ATTI YS United States Patent hice 2,952,497 Patented Sept. 13, 1960 TOOL CHEST Elmer H. Bowden, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Metal Box and Cabinet Corporation, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed Apr. 3, 1957, Ser. No. 650,511

2 Claims. (Cl. S12-221) This invention relates in general to cabinet structures having a plurality of drawers slidably mounted therein, and more particularly to a tool chest of the drawer type.

In manufacturing tool chests and the like, it is desirable that as many parts as possible be standardized to the extent that they may be mass produced economical- 1y. However, different machinists, body shop men, and others who would use such tool chests, have different requirements and desirabilities concerning the size of the drawers and the arrangement thereof. For example, some machinists may prefer a chest with many shallow tray-like drawers, while others may prefer fewer but deeper drawers. One feature of the present invention is that it comprises a standard shell mounting a plurality of drawer supporting means arranged to either slidably receive a certain number of shallow drawers or a lesser number of deeper drawers. This enables the manufacturer to make a single tool chest shell and drawers of varying depths to satisfy the wants and desires of different people. Another feature is in the supporting means which limits the withdrawal of the drawers from the tool chest to preclude accidental complete removal of a drawer from a chest and which enables the drawers to be removed very easily when desired.

It is well known that in cabinet structures having a plurality of drawers, it is desirous to provide a locking arrangement for maintaining the drawers in securely locked position when not in use in order to prevent the theft of tools or aggravating misplacement of tools. These arrangements are well known where the majority of the drawers are `locked upon closing of a control drawer which may be locked individually by a key locking device. While many of these types of locking arrangements have been heretofore developed, most are eX- pensive to manufacture, diflicult to operate, and require considerable maintenance.

Accordingly, another feature of the invention yis to provide a tool chest having an economically manufaccured locking arrangement which may be easily operated and completely trouble free. The locking arrangement of the present invention includes angle bars pivotal along a vertical axis at the rear corners of a chest which are operated by a control bar arranged in the path of a control drawer for selectively catching and releasing lugs extending laterally from the inner ends of the other drawers.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a new and improved cabinet structure having a'plurality of drawers slidably received therein.

Another object of this invention is in the provision of a standardized shell for a tool chest or a cabinet structure having a plurality of tracks adapted to receive drawers, wherein the tracks are arranged so that a pluralityofdrawers of one or more different depths may be housed by the structure.

. Still another object of this invention resides in the pro- Vision of a tool chest or the like including a box-like structure which slidably receives a plurality of drawers, wherein the component parts may be economically produced without regard to the various drawer arrangements desired by the many customers wanting such a tool chest.

A further object of this invention is to` provide a tool chest having a plurality of drawers slidable therein and arranged so that the manufacturer can economically produce the component parts wherein a user may, if he rdesires to arrange the drawers of the chest in a different manner, economically purchase other standard drawers of desired sizes without having to buy a completely new tool chest.

A still further object of this invention is in the provision of supporting means for drawers mounted in a tool chest which positively precludes accidental complete withdrawal of a drawer from the tool chest, while permitting complete withdrawal of the drawers upon simple manipulations in connection therewith.

Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved locking arrangement for maintaining drawers in a closed position in a tool chest or other cabinet structure.

Still another object of this invention resides in the provision of a simple and economically produced locking arrangement adapted to be applied to a cabinet structure having a plurality of drawers slidable therein which may be easily operated and substantially trouble-free.

Still a further `object of this invention is to provide a tool chest or the like slidably receiving a plurality of drawers and having a locking arrangement for the drawers which is controlled by a control drawer, wherein the locking arrangement need not be modified or changed in any manner when and if the drawers may be replaced by drawers of dilerent depth.

Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed disclosure, taken -in conjunction with the .accompanying sheets of drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to like parts, in which:

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective View of a tool chest embodying the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a partially fragmentary and exploded view of a drawer embodying the supporting means with respect to the chest in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View taken on a horizontal plane through a supporting means to illustrate a drawer and its floating carrier on one side as arranged within a tool chest, when the drawer is in closed position;

Fig. 4 illustrates the use of one of the tools employed to remove a drawer from a chest, and being a view similar to Fig. 3; but with the drawer in a partially opened position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective View of a rea-r corner of the tool chest with parts removed to show underlying parts and the locking arrangement in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view, taken substantially along line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a substantially fragmentary sectional view taken substantially along line 7-7 of Fig. 5 and illustrating a drawer in closed position; and

Fig. 8 is an exploded view of a modified tool chest, with some parts broken away, embodying the principles of the present invention.

`One embodiment of the present invention is herein illustrated in Figs. 1 to 7, and referring particularly to Fig. 1, a tool chest, generally indicated by the numeral 10 includes Ya shell 111 which slidably receives and houses drawers 12, 13, and 114. The shell 11 comprises parallel spaced vertical side walls 15 and 16, parallel spaced top and bottom panels 17 and 18, a rear wall 19 perpendicular to the side walls 15 and 16 and the top and bottom panels t17 and 18, Figs. 5, 6, and 7, and a front opening 20 for receiving the drawers 12, 13, and 14. Handles 21 :are pivotally secured to the outside of the side walls 15 and 16 to facilitate carrying of the tool chest from one place to another. Where it may be desired to utilize several of these tool chests in superposed stacked relation, stacking anges 22 are suitably secured at the upper corners of the tool chest to freely receive and align the bottom of an upper tool chest.

Spaced inwardly from each of the side walls 15 and 16 is a parallel partition 23, Figs. 6 and 7, which extends from the front end of the shell 11 to a point short of the back wall 19, thereby defining at each rear corner of the shell a Vertical open area or space 24. A plurality of pairs or sets of tracks or channel rails arel suitably secured to the inner side of the partitions 23; and in this case, four sets of rails are illustrated and indicated by the numerals 25, 26, 27, and 28. These rails are parallel to each other and to the top and bottom panels 17 and 18.V As seenmost clearly in Pig. 2, each channel rail includes an elongated base plate 29 having reversely bent anges 30 at the opposite edges thereof separated to deiine `an elongated slot 31. A similarly shaped set of tracks or channel rails are secured tothe opposite sides of the drawers and indicated by the numerals 25a, 26a, and 27a, these rails also being of substantially the same length as the rails on the side wall partitions 23. Connecting these rails together and completing the supporting means for the drawers are oating carrier bars 25b, 26b, and 27b. Each carrier bar, as illustrated by the carrier bar 25b in Fig. 2, includes upper spaced legs 32 and 33 and lower spaced legs 32a `and 33a which are interconnected by a double web arrangement 34. In operation, the upper leg 32 and the lower leg 32a of each carrier bar is received by a channel rail mounted on the side wall or partition 23, while the other upper leg 33 and lower leg 33a are slidably received by the channel rail carried on the drawer. These carrier bars permit the drawer to be properly supported when extending in its completely out position, wherein it is supported in more or less cantilever fashion.

Referring again to Fig. 1, it may be noted that the drawers 12 and 13 are relatively shallow, while the drawer 14 is considerably deeper. As indicated by the arrows associated with the drawers and the particular channel rails on the side walls of the tool chest shell, the channel rails 125 support the drawer 12 through suitable carrier bars and the channel rails 25a, while similarly, the drawer 13 is slidably received on carrier bars 26h carried in the channel rails 26 on the opposite side walls of the tool chest. It is also seen that the drawer 1-4 has the channel rail 27a mounted thereon near the top of the opposite side walls of the drawer so that it will align with and be supported by the carrier hars 27b slidably received in the channel rail 27 of the tool chest. Inasmuch as the drawer 14 is of substantially double depth relative to the drawers 12 and 13, it will also eX- tend downwardly over the area of the lower set of channel rails 28 on the tool chest. Hence, in this arrangement, the lower set of channel rails 28 are not used.

=Should a user of the ltool chest desire to have four shallow drawers, without incurring any great additional expense, two shallow drawers similar to drawers 12 and 13 could be easily substituted for the single drawer 14. Furthermore, if it is desired to rearrange the drawers, the double depth drawer 14 may be mounted slidably with respect to the pair of channel rails 26 and thereby covering the channel rails 27, and the drawer 13 could be slidably received beneath the double drawer 14 on the channel rail 28. It is readily seen that various drawer arrangements can be accomplished by employing this single standard shell .11, wherein it is only a matter of controlling the size or depth of the drawers to be housed within the chest. In order to permit easy operation of the drawers with respect to withdrawal and insertion of the drawers in the housing, an elongated outwardly projecting and downwardly projecting lip is secured to the top edge of the drawer so that the dingers or hand of the user may easily be received between this lip and the front face of the drawer before effecting drawer operation.

These lips are indicated by the numerals 35, 36, and 37 j on the respective drawers 12, 13, and 14.

Since it would be undesirable to withdraw the drawers completely from the` shell 11 and then spill the contents of the drawers, even though by accident, means is provided to limit the outward or forwardv movement of the drawers, while permitting easy removal of the drawers from the shell if so desired. This arrangement includes, as illust-rated in connectio-n with the drawer 12 and its associated supporting means in Fig. 2 an inwardly projecting protuberance 38 on the` channel rail 25 mounted on the side wall partition 23, an outwardly projecting protuberance 39 extending from the channel rail 25a of the drawer 12 and resilient spring fingers 40 and 41 extending from opposite sides of the oating carrier bar 25h. The spring fingers 40 and 41 are respectively arranged at the opposite sides of the carrier bar and at the opposite ends thereof as well as between the upper and lower legs, while the protuberance 38 is spaced inwardly from the outer end of the channel rail 25 and intermediate the center and other end of the rail. Similarly, the protuberance 39 is spaced inwardly from the inner end of the channel rail 25a and arranged intermediate the inner end and the center of the channel rail. As seen in Fig. 3, wherein the floating bar 25h is slidably arranged with the channel rail 2S of the inner partition 23 and the channel rail 25a of the drawer 12, the spring iingers 40 and 41, in a normal position, follow a rectilinear path which is interrupted by the protuberances 3S and 39, respectively. Accordingly, as the drawer 12 is pulled outwardly, the channel rail 25a will normally slide relative to the carrier bar 25b until the protuberance 39 engages the spring finger 41 to thereby initiate pulling of the carrier bar 25h concurrently with the drawer. When the spring finger 40 engages a protuberance 38, any further outward movement of the drawer 12 is precluded thereby preventing accidental pulling of the drawer outwardly and spilling of the contents therein. It will also be noted that when the drawer is in its outer pulled.

position, the protuberances and spring fingers are arranged so that a portion of the carrier bar is still well received within the channel rail 25a of the drawer and the opposite end portion is well received within the channel rail 25 of the side wall partition 23 to thereby assure proper cantilever support of the drawer with respect to the tool chest shell.

The movement of the carrier bars is conned so that the carrier bar will not move a substantial distance beyond the inner end of the channel rail 25 by the inwardly extending stop 42, Figs. 2 to 7. Similarly, the laterally eX- tending front faces of each drawer such as the front Wall 43 of the drawer 12, Fig. 2, serve as stops to prevent the carrier bar from moving outwardly beyond the front Wall of the drawers. Further, the front walls 43 of the drawer 12, as Well las the front Walls of the other drawers serve to engage the front end of the carrier bars when the drawers are being shoved back into closed position in order to re- Fig. 4, a handle 46 at one end extending transverse to the main section 4S, and a cam 47 extending annularly from the other end of the main section 45. In removing a drawer such as the drawer 12, the drawer is pulled partially outward of the tool chest and the tool 44 is inserted between the carrier bar 25b and the channel rail 25a of the drawer, Fig. 4, so that the handle is pointing outwardly or away from the drawer. When the tool is slid sufficiently beyond the spring nger 41, the nger is` slightly depressed, and the drawer may then be pulled the rest of the Way out. Of course, a similar tool will by necessity be inserted in the opposite channel rail and carrier bar arrangement. drawer 12 will cause the protuberance 39 to ride up the cam 47 of the tool over the main body portion 45 thereby depressing the spring linger 41 inwardly to allow passage of the protuberance 39 beyond the spring finger and withdrawal of the drawer from the carrier bar and the chest. Similarly, for removal of the carrier bar from the chest, a tool `is inserted at the rear end of the carrier bar between the carrier bar and the rail 25 and the rail may then be withdrawn whereby the spring nger 40 is `depressed by the action of the protuberance 39 riding over the outer side of the tool 45. Accordingly, removal of the drawers may be easily accomplished simply by manipulation of the tools 44.

The locking arrangement for locking the drawers within the chest is shown in Figs. l, 5', 6, and 7. The top drawer 12 may be defined as the control drawer which operates the locking mechanism when the other drawers are in closed position, and accordingly a key operated lock 48, Fig. l, is mounted on the drawer 12 for locking the top drawer within the chest after the other drawers have been locked by the locking `arrangement controlled by the top drawer 12. This key lock 48 upon operation turns a locking finger 49 into vertical position when the drawer is in closed position so that the locking iinger will engage the inside of a downwardly hanging lip or ange Sil from the top panel 17.

The locking arrangement more specifically comprises an angle bar 51 vertically arranged at each rear corner of the tool chest and pivoted to the rear wall 19 of the shell. Each angle bar includes substantially perpendicularly arranged legs 52 and 53, the latter of which comprises a part of a piano hinge 54, wherein it includes a plurality of ears coacting with a pin and ears of a vertical plate 54a suitably secured to the back wall 19 of the shell by spot welding or other suitable means. Extending upwardly from the upper ends of each angle bar is an extension 55 on which is mounted a control arm 56 arranged substantially parallel with the leg 52 of the angle bar and extending into the path of the rear wall of the top control drawer 12, Fig. 6, wherein the control drawer 12 may engage the control arm 56 and pivotally rock the angle bar 51 on the hinge 54.

The extension 55 also carries an inwardly extending arm 57, Figs. 5 and 7, which has secured thereto one end of a spring 5S. The other end of the spring is secured to a lug 59, Fig. 5, which is carried by the top panel 17. This spring serves to normally urge the angle bar into the position shown in Figs. 5 and 6 or into unlocking position. Extending laterally from the rear ends of each drawer below the control drawer 12 are locking lugs 60, Figs. l and 7, which are engaged by the leg 52 of the locking angle bars 51 when the control drawer 12 is in closed position and the angle bars 51 are rotated into locked position as seen in Fig. 7.

Since the locking lugs 60 would normally extend into the range of the supporting means including the channel rails and the carrier bars, they are -arranged to follow a rectilinear path between the spaced rails. For example, the lugs 60 on the drawer 13 would travel along a rectilinear path positioned intermediate the sets of channel rails 26 and 27, while the lugs 60 on the bottom drawer 14 would travel between the bottom set of chan- Further, pulling outwardly of the,

nel rails 28 and the bottom panel 18 of the shell. Thus, when the lower drawers 13 and 14 are in closed position, and the upper drawer is slid into closed position, the rear wall of the upper drawer 12 engages the control arms 56 to rotate the angle bars 51 against the force of the springs 58 to the position shown in Fig. 7 where the rectilinear path ofthe lugs 60 is blocked by the legs 52 of the angle bars 51 thereby locking the drawers 13 and 14 into closed positions. Further locking of the key lock 48 completes the overall locking of the entire tool chest. When the drawer 12 is retracted from the housing, the action of the springs 58 will cause the angle bars 51 to rotate to a position as shown in Fig. 6 whereby the rectilinear path of the locking lugs 60 are unimpeded and the lower drawers 13 and 14 may then be withdrawn from the housing. Regardless of whether the drawers are of the shallow type such as 12 and 13 or of the deep type 14, it is not necessary to modify or change in -any manner the locking arrangement in order to rearrange the drawers or the sides thereof. In other words, two shallow drawers of the size of drawer 13 may be easily substituted for the deep drawer 14 without needing to change the locking arrangement in `any manner inasmuch as the locking leg 52 of the angle bar extends from below the control drawer 12 to the bottom of the tool chest shell.

Referring now to Fig. 8, a modified tool chest is `shown in order to illustrate the versatility of the drawer arrangement, wherein interchangeable drawers of various sizes may be mounted in the standard shell. This tool chest may be generally indicated by the numeral 10A and includes an outer substantially rectangularly shaped or box-shaped shell 61 having a front opening 62 for slidably receiving a plurality of drawers. Opposite side walls 63 and 64 mount a plurality of sets of channel rails or tracks 65, 66, 67, 68, and 69. Vertical partitions 76 and 71 are suspended from the upper panel of the shell with their lower edges spaced from the bottom of the shell. On the sides of these partitions facing the outer side walls are rails or tracks 65a, 66a, and V67a coaligned with the side wall rails 65, 66, and 67, respectively. On the inner sides of the partition 70 and 71 are arranged a plurality of pairs of tracks or rails 72, 7S, and 74, also coaligned with the rails 65', 66, 67 and rails 65a, 66a, and 67a. All of the rails or tracks are substantially the same as shown in conection with the first embodiment and likewise carry floating carrier bars which receive similar rails on the drawers.

Because of the center partitions 70 and 71, three sets of drawers may be arranged across the shell of the tool chest in these areas. To illustrate the versatility of arrangements, it is seen that three shallow drawers 75, 76, and 77 are mounted on the rails `65-65a, 66`66a, and 67-67a, respectively, in the lef-t hand opening, two drawers 78 and 79 of greater depths are mounted in the center opening between the partitions 70 and 71 utilizing only two of the pairs of tracks, namely tracks 72-72 and 74-74, and only a single very deep drawer 80 is arranged between the partition 71 and the outer wall 64 which utilizes only the single set of tracks 66a--66- Thus, one, two, or three sets of these tracks may be utilized depending upon the depths desired of the drawers. All of these drawers are of equal width, and therefore, are interchangeable in the three areas.

The rails mounted on the equi-depth shallow drawers 715, 76, and 77 are arranged approximately mid-way of the sides thereof. It may be noted that the drawer 78 is slightly deeper than the drawer 79 and that the rails are arranged in the upper part of the sides on the drawer 78 and on the lower part of the sides on the drawer 79. While the rails on the drawer S0 could be selectively arranged at the upper, lower, or midway points, preferably they are arranged mid-way of the sides as shown.

With respect to the lower sets of rails 68 and 69 which are aligned below the bottom edges of the partitions 76 and 71, drawers y81 and 82 extending the full width of the tool chest are received on the channel rails 68 and 69. Even these drawers are of varying depths, and it will be appreciated that a single drawer of the total depth of the two drawers 8l and 82 may be interchanged for these drawers thereby utilizing only one of the pairs of rails 68 or 69. Handles 83 are pivotally carried on the outer surface of the opposite side wall 63 and 64 to facilitate moving of the tool chest from one place to another.

This tool chest 10A further diiers in that a space is provided above the drawers which embraces cornpartments 84, 8S, and 86 deiined by the sides of the shell and dividers 87 and y88. These compartments may be enclosed by the cover 89 which is hinged at 90 to the tool chest. Linkages 91 and `92 are arranged at opposite sides of the tool chest with one end of each linkage being connected to the tool chest shell 61 and the other end t the cover 89 for the purpose of aiding and maintaining the cover in an open and upward position while preventing it from dropping behind the tool chest shell. When the drawers are arranged in their closed position within the tool chest shell, the handles of the drawers are recessed from the outer end of the front opening 62 so that a closing door 93 which is hinged toA the outer free end of the cover 89 may be received by the bounding portions of the tool chest whereby a key lock 94 can be manipulated to bring a locking inger (not shown) into engagement with a slot 95 arranged in the bottom of the chest. Thus, the door 93 eiectively locks all of the drawers within the tool chest and maintains the cover in a closed position. When the cover 89 is in its up position as shown, the door 93` will normally swing into abutting relationship with the inner surface of the cover in the direction as indicated by the arrows 96 so that the door 93 is completely out of the way for the user of the tool chest.

It will be understood that modications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is to be limited only by the scope of the appended claims.

The invention is hereby claimed as follows:

l. A tool chest comprising a box-like structure having a front opening, a control drawer slidably mounted in said chest, one other drawer slidably mounted in Said chest and arranged in vertical alignment below the control drawer, and means operable by said control drawer for locking said other drawer in closed position, said cal supporting bar hingedly mounted at one vertical edge to the chest and a vertical locking bar secured to the other vertical edge thereof and being vsubstantially perv pendicular thereto, said locking bar extending from slightly below the control drawer to the bottom of theV chest, a tab extending laterally from the inner end of said other drawer, means for normally urging said locking bar ofthe angle member into locking position, and a control arm secured to said angle member extending into the path of the control drawer, whereby movement of the control arm by the control drawer pivots said locking bar into position to block movement of said tab on said other drawer thereby locking the other drawer in closed position.

2. A tool chest comprising a box-like structure having a front opening, a control drawer slidably mounted in said chest, a plurality of other drawers slidably mounted in said chest and arranged in vertical alignment below the control drawer, and means operable by said control drawer for locking said other drawers in closed position, said means including a vertically extending angle member mounted in each rear corner of the chest, each angle member having a vertical supporting bar hingedly mounted at one vertical edge to the chest and a vertical locking bar secured to the other vertical edge thereof and being substantially perpendicular thereto, said locking bars extending from slightly below the control drawer to the bottom of the chest, tabs extending laterally from the inner ends of said other drawers, means for normally urging said locking bars of the angle members into locking position, and control arms secured to said angle members extending into the path of the control drawer, whereby movement of the control arms by the control drawer pivots said locking bars into position to block movement of said tabs on said other drawers thereby locking the other drawers in closed position.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 798,634 Stevens Sept. 5, 1905 1,379,999 Marcinek May 31, 1921 1,744,646 Kurten Jan. 21, 1930 1,984,345 Kennedy Dec. 1l, 1934 2,180,630 Hearn Nov. 21, 1939 2,688,526 Ulrich Sept. 7, 1954 2,763,525 Brunthaver Sept. 18, 1956 1 ring 

